2009 NRL season

This season the NRL introduced a second on-field referee.[4] Previously when the ball changed possession the lone on-field referee would have to change his position to stay with the defending team. He also could only observe the ruck from one direction. The two-referee system saves the referees some running back and forth to get into position as possession changes and also improves watchfulness over the ruck.

The Manly Sea Eagles began their premiership title defense in horrific fashion, losing their first four games, before a stunning revival led to them losing only four of their final 16 regular season games. The St. George Illawarra Dragons, under new coach Wayne Bennett finished the regular season with their first minor premiership title as a joint venture club. However, the Dragons then became the first minor premiers since the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 1993 to be eliminated from the final series in consecutive losses.

For the first time since the McIntyre Final Eight System was introduced, a game was played twice in a row in the same stadium. This happened when the Dragons and Parramatta Eels played each other in round 26 (the final regular season round) and again in the first week of finals, both at WIN Jubilee Oval at Kogarah. The first game saw St George Illawarra come away with a 37-0 win in front of 17,974, while the next weeks Qualifying final saw Parramatta reverse the result with a 25-12 win in front of 18,174.

The Eels went on to become the first side since the McIntyre Final Eight System was introduced (in 1999) to make the grand final from eighth position. Along the way, they defeated the top three teams – the St George Illawarra Dragons, Gold Coast Titans and Bulldogs – in their three finals series matches, to make it to their first Grand Final since 2001. Their Grand Final opponents, the Melbourne Storm, were playing in their fourth straight Grand Final and were looking for their third premiership having previously won in 1999 and 2007.

In 2009, NRL games on New Zealand's Sky network drew average audiences of 46,221.[5]

The clubs in the League for 2009 remained unchanged for the third consecutive year, with sixteen participating in the regular season: ten from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one from each of Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. Of the ten from New South Wales, eight were from Sydney's metropolitan area (with St. George Illawarra being a Sydney and Wollongong joint venture). Just two foundation clubs from the 1908 New South Wales Rugby Football League season played in this competition: the Roosters and the Rabbitohs.

Brisbane Broncos 22nd season Ground: Suncorp Stadium Coach: Ivan Henjak Captain: Darren Lockyer	Bulldogs 75th season Ground: ANZ Stadium Coach: Kevin Moore Captain: Andrew Ryan	Canberra Raiders 28th season Ground: Canberra Stadium Coach: David Furner Captain: Alan Tongue	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 43rd season Ground: Toyota Stadium Coach: Ricky Stuart Captain: Paul Gallen → Trent Barrett
Gold Coast Titans 3rd season Ground: Skilled Park Coach: John Cartwright Captain: Scott Prince & Luke Bailey	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 60th season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Des Hasler Captain: Matt Orford	Melbourne Storm 12th season Ground Olympic Park Stadium Coach: Craig Bellamy Captain: Cameron Smith	Newcastle Knights 22nd season Ground: EnergyAustralia Stadium Coach: Brian Smith → Rick Stone Captain: Kurt Gidley
2009 New Zealand Warriors 15th season Ground: Mt Smart Stadium Coach: Ivan Cleary Captain: Steve Price	North Queensland Cowboys 15th season Ground: Dairy Farmers Stadium Coach: Neil Henry Captain: Johnathan Thurston	Parramatta Eels 63rd season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Daniel Anderson Captain: Nathan Cayless	Penrith Panthers 43rd season Ground: CUA Stadium Coach: Matthew Elliott Captain: Petero Civoniceva
South Sydney Rabbitohs 100th season Ground: ANZ Stadium Coach: Jason Taylor Captain: Roy Asotasi	Sydney Roosters 102nd season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Brad Fittler Captain: Braith Anasta	St. George Illawarra Dragons 11th season Ground: WIN Jubilee Oval & WIN Stadium Coach: Wayne Bennett Captain: Ben Hornby	Wests Tigers 10th season Grounds: Campbelltown Stadium & Leichhardt Oval Coach: Tim Sheens Captain: Robbie Farah

2009 NRL season
	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	17	0	7	2	548	329	+219	38
2	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	18	0	6	2	575	428	+147	38*
3	Gold Coast Titans	24	16	0	8	2	514	467	+47	36
4	Melbourne Storm	24	14	1	9	2	505	348	+157	33
5	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	14	0	10	2	549	459	+90	32
6	Brisbane Broncos	24	14	0	10	2	511	566	−55	32
7	Newcastle Knights	24	13	0	11	2	508	491	+17	30
8	Parramatta Eels	24	12	1	11	2	476	473	+3	29
9	Wests Tigers	24	12	0	12	2	558	483	+75	28
10	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	11	1	12	2	566	549	+17	27
11	Penrith Panthers	24	11	1	12	2	515	589	−74	27
12	North Queensland Cowboys	24	11	0	13	2	558	474	+84	26
13	Canberra Raiders	24	9	0	15	2	489	520	−31	22
14	New Zealand Warriors	24	7	2	15	2	377	565	−188	20
15	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	5	0	19	2	359	568	−209	14
16	Sydney Roosters	24	5	0	19	2	382	681	−299	14

* Bulldogs stripped of 2 competition points after an interchange breach in round 2

Ladder progression

• Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
• Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
• Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round
• Underlined numbers indicate that the team had a bye during that round.

	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
1	St. George Illawarra	0	2	4	6	8	8	10	12	12	14	16	18	18	20	22	24	26	28	30	32	34	36	36	36	36	38
2	Bulldogs	2	2	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	16	18	20	22	24	24	26	28	28	30	32	34	36	38	38
3	Gold Coast	2	2	4	6	8	10	10	12	12	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	24	26	26	28	28	30	32	34	36	36
4	Melbourne	2	2	4	4	6	6	7	9	11	13	13	15	17	19	21	21	23	25	25	27	27	29	29	29	31	33
5	Manly-Warringah	0	0	0	0	2	4	4	4	6	8	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	24	24	24	26	28	30	32
6	Brisbane	2	4	6	6	8	10	12	12	12	14	16	18	18	18	18	18	20	22	22	22	22	24	26	28	30	32
7	Newcastle	0	2	2	4	6	8	8	10	12	14	14	16	16	16	18	20	20	22	24	24	24	24	26	28	28	30
8	Parramatta	0	2	4	4	4	4	4	6	8	8	9	9	11	11	13	15	15	15	17	19	21	23	25	27	29	29
9	Wests	2	2	4	4	4	6	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	12	12	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	26	26	26	28
10	South Sydney	2	2	4	6	6	6	8	8	10	12	13	13	13	13	15	15	15	17	19	21	21	23	23	23	25	27
11	Penrith	0	0	2	4	4	4	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	16	16	18	20	20	22	24	25	25	25	27	27	27
12	North Queensland	0	2	2	2	2	4	6	6	8	10	12	14	16	16	18	18	20	22	22	22	24	24	24	24	24	26
13	Canberra	0	0	0	2	4	4	4	4	6	6	8	10	12	12	12	14	16	16	16	16	18	18	20	20	22	22
14	New Zealand	2	4	4	4	4	6	7	7	9	9	9	11	11	13	15	15	15	15	17	17	18	18	18	20	20	20
15	Cronulla-Sutherland	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	6	8	10	12	12	12	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
16	Sydney	0	2	2	4	4	4	4	6	6	6	6	8	8	8	8	10	10	12	12	12	14	14	14	14	14	14

The NRL finals series adopted the McIntyre Final Eight System. Four teams made a return to the 2009 finals from 2008, grand finalists Melbourne Storm, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles along with the Brisbane Broncos and St George Illawarra Dragons. Both the Bulldogs and Parramatta Eels made a return after being absent in 2008. The Newcastle Knights made the finals for the first time since 2006 and their first since the departure of club legend Andrew Johns. The Gold Coast Titans entered their maiden finals series. It was also the first finals series since 2002 that no team was held scoreless.

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referees	Crowd
QUALIFYING FINALS
Melbourne Storm	40 – 12	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	11 September, 7:45pm	Etihad Stadium	Gavin Badger Shayne Hayne	21,155
Gold Coast Titans	32 – 40	Brisbane Broncos	12 September, 6:30pm	Skilled Park	Ben Cummins Ashley Klein	27,227
Bulldogs	26 – 12	Newcastle Knights	12 September, 8:30pm	ANZ Stadium	Tony Archer Jason Robinson	21,369
St George Illawarra Dragons	12 – 25	Parramatta Eels	13 September, 4:00pm	WIN Jubilee Oval	Jarred Maxwell Matt Cecchin	18,174
SEMI FINALS
Parramatta Eels	27 – 2	Gold Coast Titans	18 September, 7:45pm	Sydney Football Stadium	Shayne Hayne Jared Maxwell	28,524
Brisbane Broncos	24 – 10	St. George Illawarra Dragons	19 September, 7:45pm	Suncorp Stadium	Tony Archer Ben Cummins	50,225
PRELIMINARY FINALS
Bulldogs	12 – 22	Parramatta Eels	25 September, 7:45pm	ANZ Stadium	Tony Archer Ben Cummins	74,549
Melbourne Storm	40 – 10	Brisbane Broncos	26 September, 7:45pm	Etihad Stadium	Shayne Hayne Jared Maxwell	27,687

	Qualifying Finals					Semi Finals					Preliminary Finals					Grand Final
	1	St. George Illawarra	12
	8	Parramatta	25
											1W	Canterbury	12
	2	Canterbury	26			4W	Parramatta	27				Parramatta	22
	7	Newcastle	12			2L	Gold Coast	2									Parramatta	16
																	Melbourne	23
	3	Gold Coast	32								2W	Melbourne	40
	6	Brisbane	40			3W	Brisbane	24				Brisbane	10
						1L	St. George Illawarra	10
	4	Melbourne	40
	5	Manly	12

The following figures were collected from the completion of round 26 of the regular season and therefore do not represent any figures associated with the finals series or any representative matches for this year.

Top 5 point scorers

Pts	Player	Try	Gls	FG
234	Hazem El Masri	14	89	0
228	Jamie Soward	12	87	6
202	Johnathan Thurston	11	79	0
180	Luke Burt	13	63	2
172	Scott Prince	7	72	0

Top 5 try scorers

Try	Player
22	Brett Morris
21	Taniela Tuiaki
20	Josh Morris
19	Nathan Merritt
19	Bryson Goodwin

Most points in a match by an individual

Pts	Player	Try	Gls	FG	Opponent	Score	Venue	Round
24	Luke Burt	2	8/8	0	Newcastle Knights	40–8	Parramatta Stadium	Round 22
24	Luke Burt	2	8/8	0	Penrith Panthers	48–6	Parramatta Stadium	Round 25
24	Benji Marshall	2	8/10	0	Cronulla Sharks	56–10	Toyota Stadium	Round 23
24	Joe Tomane	3	6/9	0	Brisbane Broncos	48–4	Olympic Park Stadium	Round 13

Most tries in a match by an individual

Tries	Player	Opponent	Score	Venue	Round
4	Israel Folau	Gold Coast Titans	32–18	Suncorp Stadium	Round 10
4	Phil Graham	Brisbane Broncos	56–0	Canberra Stadium	Round 21
4	Joel Moon	Penrith Panthers	32–32	CUA Stadium	Round 21
4	Brett Morris	North Queensland	20–24	Dairy Farmers Stadium	Round 9
4	Billy Slater	Manly Sea Eagles	40–12	Etihad Stadium	Qualifying Final

Largest winning margin

Score	Victor	Opponent	Venue	Round
56 – 0 (56 pts)	Canberra Raiders	Brisbane Broncos	Canberra Stadium	Round 21
56 – 10 (46 pts)	Wests Tigers	Cronulla Sharks	Toyota Stadium	Round 23
48 – 4 (44 pts)	Melbourne Storm	Brisbane Broncos	Olympic Park	Round 13

Most points in a match

Points	Victor	Opponent	Score	Venue	Round
82	Brisbane Broncos	Penrith Panthers	58–24	Suncorp Stadium	Round 23
74	Wests Tigers	South Sydney Rabbitohs	54–20	ANZ Stadium	Round 17
72	Penrith Panthers	Parramatta Eels	38–34	CUA Stadium	Round 17

Fewest points in a match

Points	Victor	Opponent	Score	Venue	Round
13	New Zealand Warriors	Newcastle Knights	13–0	Mt Smart Stadium	Round 14
14	New Zealand Warriors	Wests Tigers	14–0	Mt Smart Stadium	Round 12
14	Brisbane Broncos	St. George Illawarra Dragons	12–2	WIN Stadium	Round 24
16	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Cronulla Sharks	10–6	WIN Jubilee Oval	Round 3

Most points scored in a match by an individual team

Pts	Team	Opponent	Score	Venue	Round
58	Brisbane Broncos	Penrith Panthers	58–24	Suncorp Stadium	Round 23
56	Wests Tigers	Cronulla Sharks	56–10	Toyota Stadium	Round 23
56	Canberra Raiders	Brisbane Broncos	56–0	Canberra Stadium	Round 21
54	Wests Tigers	South Sydney Rabbitohs	54–20	ANZ Stadium	Round 17
52	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Sydney Roosters	52–12	Sydney Football Stadium	Round 1

• More NRL statistics

Jarryd Hayne ran 4,429 metres with the ball in 2009, more than any other player in the competition.[7]

2009's regular season attendance figures were the highest recorded in Australian rugby league history, with a total of 3,081,849. This figure bettered the previous record set by the 1995 Winfield Cup's regular season (3,061,338 in a 20 team competition) and also beat the Telstra Premiership's previous best of 3,024,149 set in 2007.[8]

The 2009 season also saw the second highest average crowd figure of a regular season, with a crowd average of 16,051, behind the best of 16,466 set in the 2005 NRL season.

The 20 highest regular season match attendances:

• 2009 NRL season results
• 2009 NRL Under-20s season
• 2009 Dally M Awards
• 2009 in rugby league

• NRL.com – Official site of the NRL, National Rugby League